This chart shows the participation of people from four different countries in a contest of hot dog eating, this is a contest arranged on every 4th July for last 30 years from 1990 to 2010.
The large number of hotdog eaters were from US, they remained winners of the contest, 20 times in different years. Still an american guy Joey Chestnut is a record holder, he ate 68 hot dogs in just 15 minutes. On second position, the Japanese were the winners, they won the contest 9 times. One of the japanese got top position among hot dog eaters continuously for 6 years, before Joey Chestnut. Mexico and German remained winners for only once, Mexican won in 1983 and the only German female got first position in 1984.

The graph illustrates the average of hot dog consumers contest in four countries, betweeen the periode from 1980 to 2010.

Overall it's clear that America has been the biggest amount of winners in the contest followed by Japan in the second rank, then Mexico with a significant amount finally it has been Germany with avery poor number of women conpetitors.
It is clear that since 1980 until 1998 America has been ranking the first class with a slight diference comparing with Japan which was chalanged it until 2007.
Comparing America to Germany And Mexico ,we notice a flagrant difference during all the periode whereas German did not rise up than 8 hot dog, and Mexico paticipated to this contest and scored only 19,5 hot dog winners in 1983.

in conclusion Americans are the most consumer of hot dog followed by Jpan, then Mexico ,and finally germany with only female winners.

Hi Simon ,
It would be really useful and nice if you could also post topics for general writing ie. letters once in 2 weeks , going forward.
I think there is a lot of people out there opting for general iel's as well.

The intro and overview is quite easy to construct, but i am not sure how to write the 2 body paragraphs. How should i group and compare?
any suggestions?

heres my first 2 paras.

The bar chart illustrates records of an annual hotdog eating contest held in the US from the years 1980 to 2010.
It is clear that the majority of winners came from the US, followed by japan. Only twice does another country, Germany and Mexico win. It is also interesting to note that the overall number of hotdogs consumed during the contest increased significantly over this 30-year period.

The bar chart shows the record of hot dogs eaten in Nathan Hot Dog Eating Contest from 1980 to 2010. During this time the number of hot dog eaten by a contestants had an increased trend with two drastic changes in 2001 and 2007.
According to the figure, Americans were the main winners of the challenge. 20 times out of 31 they won the contest followed by Japanese with 9 times as winners. The contest was once won by a Mexican and another single time by a German woman who was the only woman winner of the contest.
Moreover, during the years of concourse the number of hot dog eaten by one contestant increased from less than 10 hot dog and bun in 1980 up to 68 in 2009. Based on the numbers showed in chart there were two drastic changes during this period of time. First in 2001 the number of hot dog consumed by a person jumped from 25 from previous year to over 50. Another significant change was in 2006 in which this number reached 75 from 53 sandwiches eaten in 2005.

The graph compares the winner of Nathan’s hot dog and buns eating contest that has been organized on every 4th of July since 1980 to 2010.

It can be clearly seen that the winners from America dominate most times of the years, followed by the Japanese. It is also revealed that a Mexican and the only female Germans won single time only.

From the graph, in the year 1983, within the 15 minutes time, the Mexican winner consumed 19.5 hot dogs and buns. To be surprised, in 1984, Birgit Felden successfully ate 9 hot dogs and buns which she became the first and the only female winner. As expected, the rest of the years from 1985 until 1996, the winners were all from the local residents.

Nevertheless, the Japanese won unexpectedly in 1997 for the first time with highest record at 22.25. After 3 years, Takeru Kobayashi won six years in a row and achieved highest record at 53.75 in 2004 and 2006 and it became a phenomenal results.

To sum up, in the last 4 years of the 30 years period, the American gain the title of winner back by Joey Chesnut which made new record of 68 in 2009.

The vertical bar chart provides the detailed report about Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest which is being held in Brooklyn's Coney Island every year and it contains the data from 1980 to till year. There were only four countries which has won the contest so far and US has won the majority of the contests followed by Japan.Mexico and German comes in third position as both of them has won the contest only once.

Graph clearly says that US had been invincible from 1985 to 1995 and derailed from the winning track as Japan took over the winning cap slowly from 1995 on-wards.Japan has secured its position by winning 7 times continuously from 2000 to 2006. At present Joey Chestnut holds the record by consuming 68 hot dogs and buns in 15 minutes.Takeru Kobayashi from Japan was holding the record prior to Joey Chestnut.Brigit Feldon,German was the only one female winner till date she won the contest on 1984.

The chart contains information on Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest between 1980 and 2010. It was held on the 4th day of July every year in Brooklyn's Coney Island. Also, the participants of the contest were from US, Japan, Mexico and Germany.

To start with, it was very apparent that Americans won the competition multiple times. They won the contest between 1980 and 1983, 1985 and 1996, 1999 and 2007 onwards. At the same time, the record holder of the most hot dogs and buns consumed was American by the name of Joey Chestnut. He ate 68 hot dogs and buns in just 15 minutes.

Furthermore, Japan was the second most number of win throughout the period of contest. They won 9 times from 1997 to 2006. It was interesting to note that Takeru Kobayashi of Japan held the record of most hot dogs and buns eaten for 6 years before an American snatched the title in 2007.

Finally, Mexico won the contest in 1983 and scored almost 20 hot dogs and buns consumed in less than 15 minutes. Surprisingly, there was only one female winner throughout the period of competition. She was Birgit Felden from Germany, who had one of the least hot dogs and buns consumed throughout the contest.

The bar graph tells us about the number of hotdogs and buns consumed by a contestants and the number of title obtained by four major countries joined the competition held in the US for a span of 3 decades. It is clear to say that Americans ate most hotdogs and buns and hold the most number of winnings in the history of the competition followed by the Japanese, then Mexico and Germany.
For the last 30 years, Mexico won only once in 1983 which consumed 19.3, similarly the Germans won in 1984 with less than 10 hotdogs and buns consumed. However the Japanese sets a record by winning 9 times between 1997 to 2006. Although American won in 1998, the Japanese won 7 consecutive years starting 1999 which drastically increases the number of hotdogs and buns consumed from more than 20 in 1997 to more than 50 in 2006. But still nothing beats America by winning a total of 20 times in different year and by setting a record of 68 hotdogs and buns consumed in just 15 minutes in 2009.
In conclusion, the overall trend is that contestants gradually increase their capacity to consume hotdogs and buns in 15minute time from less than 10 in 1980 to more than 20 in 2000 with a drastic increase from 2001 to 2010 with an average of more than 50 which is dominated by the Americans.

The bar chart depicts the record of hot dog eating consumers contest in four countries, Us,Japan,Mexico,Germany from 1983 to 2010 as indicated on the x-axis.
The y-axis illustrates the amount of buns eaten from 10 to 60.

US has over 68 of hot dogs eaten in 2010 even though the lowest eaten in US is in 1983. Germany only occurred the amount of the hot dogs and buns eaten in 1983. On the other hand, the number of the hot dogs and buns eaten in Germany have about less than 10 in 1983. Mexico has about 19 hot dogs and buns eaten in 1983. Japan has around 22 of hot dogs eaten in 1998.

While Us had at about less than 10 of hot dogs and buns eaten, The hot dogs buns eaten of US consumers have increased significantly in 1983 to 2010.
Japan occurred in 1983 after that has increased markedly in 2007. Japan has a better increased and following US.

In summary, in last four years, Use gain the title of winner back by American Joey Chestnut at about 68 of hot dogs and buns eaten. Japan won siz years in the row.

Hi Simon! First off I would like to say a big THANK YOU for putting up this excellent ielts blog. I had only two weeks to prepare for my ielts exam and I found your website extremely useful, especially in academic writing task 1. I got a flowchart in my exam and overall I scored a 8.0 in my writing. I read all of your reading tips too and scored a 9.0!The only letdown was my speaking,7.0 but thanks to your blog I managed to score a band 8 for my ielts exam without any tuition. I really appreciate all your work and I hope you will continue to help other ielts candidates the way you helped me!

The bar chart depicts the record of hot dog eating consumers contest in four countries, Us,Japan,Mexico,Germany from 1983 to 2010 as indicated on the x-axis. The y-axis illustrates the amount of buns eaten from 10 to 60.

The U.S. has over 68 of hot dogs eaten in 2010, and the lowest eaten in the U.S. is in 1983. Germany only occurred the amount of the hot dogs and buns eaten in 1983. On the other hand, the number of the hot dogs and buns eaten in Germany have about less than 10 in 1983. Mexico has about 19 hot dogs and buns eaten in 1983. Japan has around 22 of hot dogs eaten in 1998.

While The U.S. had about less than 10 of hot dogs and buns eaten, The hot dogs buns eaten of US consumers have increased significantly in 1983 to 2010. Japan entered in 1983 after that has increased markedly in 2007. Japan has a better increased.

In summary, in last four years, The U.S. has gained the title of winner back by American Joey Chestnut at about 68 of hot dogs and buns eaten. Japan won six years in a row.

The bar chart shows the scores of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest winners in between 1980 and 2010. Nationality of the record holders belongs to four different region and these are from United States, Japan, Mexico and Germany.

Recently, the record held by an American person whose name's Joey Chestnut with 68 hot dogs and bunts has been eaten in year 2009. Takeru Kobayashi was an Japanese contender who had been set the records for six times in a row between the period of 1997 and 2007. Takeru's first record was with 22.25 hot dogs and buns in 1997 which was the third record score until that time. The second record has been helded by an American but the first one was an Mexican person who had been eaten 19.5 hot dogs and buns. In 1984, record was setting by an German on first time, also this is the only female winner of the contest.

In summary, American people composes to larger range of contenders
on the contest, however, it can be seeing that records are taken by an Japanese person most of the time. Furthermore, the number of hot dogs and buns that eaten has increased significantly in the contest from the beginning.

The chart shows the participants who ate hot dogs and buns from four different countries between 1980 and 2010.
It is clear by far that the U.S.A was the most popular country winning the competition, followed by Japan. It is also noticeable that a German winner was the only female who won the challenge.
Looking at the bar graph it is apparent that the Americans were the consistent participants who won the contest 20 times out of 31, followed by Japan 9 times who held the title of contest. Mexico and Germany both won this eating event only a single time.
In the year 1980, less than 10 hot dogs and buns were eaten by American contestant, and the figure reached up to 68 in 2009. In the year 2000, Japanese consumed 25 hot dogs and buns. Again this figure jumped from 25 to over 50 in 2006. Finally, Mexican consumed 19.5 hot dogs and buns in 1983, while German ate around 10 in 1984 by a female contestant, which is the lowest amount of eating.

The bar chart shows the winners of a hot dog and buns eating contest and the amount the winners ate from 1980 to 2010.
Data clearly illustrates that Americans won much more than the other there countries. They are followed by Japans, Germans and Mexicans respectively, while Germans and Mexicans won only once.
In the last 4 years, Americans have been the most successful among Japans, Mexicans and Germans. They also ate more hot dogs than the previous years’ winners. In 2009 an American ate 68 hot dogs and buns and broke the record.
Between the years 2000 and 2006, a Japanese named Takeru Kobayashi finished the competition in the first place consecutively.
Interestingly, among these 30 years of contest, there was only one female winner in it. German named Birgit Felden in 1984 won the competition and still remains as the only winner of this contest of hot dog eating.

The bar chart showed the record data of a N’s contest -- hot dog and buns eaten in a limited time(15minutes) in BCI --- from 1980 to 2010. All winners of the 30-year period came from 4 countries in total, namely, US, Japan, Mexico and Germany.

Two major features could be seen in the graph. The records of the match had a roughly upward trend among the mentioned 3 decades. Throughout the period, US players occupied more than half records every year and kept the peak record (68 pieces of hot dog and buns)in a single year 2009 so far.

Regarding the bar graph, from 1980 to 1995, US players had dominated most records of this match, except 2 records won by a mexican player with 19.5 ones in 1983 and the only female winner BF from Germany in 1984.

However, Japanese players had taken over their American counterparts on this pride in most games within next decade since 1996. The major achievement was TK won six matches in a row with best record 53.75ones (2006) which was almost trebled compared to Mexican player’s figure. Whereas US players took the reign back afterthen. They dominated next 4-year matches with higher records, including the toppest figure 68 pieces won by JC in 2009.

Hi Sammy,
It is great pleasure for me that you found this method helpful. In fact Simon should be happier, as all I did was what I learned from his teaching style. Before that when I was looking to the chart, table or other figures in Task 1 academic writing, I was wondered where in the world I have to start? I learned this point from a lesson that Simon has shown in a task 1 material regarding to Yemen and Italy populations’ age groups in 2000 and 2050. ( it is better to go on that lesson and check out his suggestion).
It is very easy; first see the most obvious trend or change that catch your eyes, which is the increasing number of hot dog consumed here. The next thing that you notice is the numbers of time that each country won the contest.

Hi Khairia,
I just followed all the updates from this blog and did some writing exercises. I also wrote common key words used in Writing 1 in a notepad for easier reference. For reading, I did all of Simon'd exercises and referred to the specific answers in the comments. Hope you do well in your exam and good luck!

The figure illustrates the nationality of Nathan’s hot dog eating contest winners and the number of hot dogs and bunds eaten by these winners in each year from 1980 to 2010.

It is noticeable that generally the records of winners increased according to the years in spite of slight fluctuations. The number of Americans accounted for the largest proportion among the winners and outweighed the number of Japanese winners which is the second largest winner group.

The only one Mexican winner won the game in 1983, keeping his record until the year 1991. Among 30 years, there was only one female winner, Birgit Felden, coming from Germany with the record of 9 hotdogs which was also the lowwest record of the chaponship.

The highest Japanese score was 53.75, which was achieved in the year 2006. The highest record among the whole history was 68, held by American in 2009.

The bar chart shows the number of hotdogs and buns eaten in 15 minutes during the "Nathan’s hot dog eating contest" in Coney Island between 1980 and 2010.
It is clearly noticeable how the number of hotdogs and buns eaten increased dramatically after 2001.
Americans dominated the contest for over 15 years, with only two exceptions in 1983, when a mexican won eating almost 20 hotdog and buns, and in 1984, when for the first time the winner was a woman from Germany. Japaneses won for 10 years in a row with only an exception in 1999. The increase of number of hotdogs and buns eaten grew up from more than 20 to more than 50 when the japanese winner Takery Kobayashi dominated the contest for all the six years, while the incredible record was in 2009 when the american winner Joey Chestnut ate almost 70 hotdogs and buns.